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Why Saudi Arabia Needs Israel

(Makor Rishon-Hebrew, 25Aug2023) Dr. Harold Rhode interviewed by Assaf Gabor - Dr. Harold Rhode served as advisor to the U.S. Defense Department for Islamic and Middle Eastern Affairs from 1982 to 2011. He speaks Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish and French, and notes that the West frequently overlooks the basics of Muslim culture. Prior to the Oslo Accords 30 years ago, Rhode warned the Clinton government that this was a Palestinian scam. "The people that worked on the accords didn't want to hear me when I told them it was a bluff. Arafat signed on Oslo in English, but what he was saying in Arabic showed his 'salami tactics.'" He explained that the Oslo agreement was like the Hudaybiyyah Treaty that the Prophet Muhammad had signed: a ceasefire in order to regroup and then attack. "I warned that a lot of people would die and that the accords were not worth the paper they were written on. The word 'no' does not exist in Arab diplomacy: they will promise you everything that you want, and that with the test of time it becomes clear that it all was a lie in order to survive. There is no such conception of 'compromise,' because compromise is viewed as a loss of honor." With regard to Israel's future relations with Saudi Arabia, Rhode noted that the Saudis "need Israel, and therefore they are prepared to set the Palestinian issue aside. They don't care much for the Palestinians, and as Wahhabi Muslims they don't recognize Jerusalem as a holy place." Their leading theologian "has ruled that only Mecca and Medina are holy to Islam. He claimed that Jews who converted to Islam were responsible for making Jerusalem a city holy to Islam." "While the Saudis officially speak of the importance of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, there are also Saudis who say that the Palestinians are not connected to the Land of Israel and came there as foreign workers. In Saudi Arabia, nothing is published without government approval, and when you see articles against the Palestinians, you can understand that these reflect the spirit of the government." "The Saudis need relations with a strong nation that will stand with them in time of war against the Shiites. They would prefer the U.S., but the Biden administration has insulted them. However, the Iranian hatred for Israel guarantees that Israel will be their faithful ally....In economic matters as well, Israel is seen as a strong state, and its technology can help the Saudis to make the desert bloom."
2023-08-28 00:00:00
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